Category Archives: LGRAB Summer Games

All right folks, it’s another evening and another drawing/roundup of this year’s Summer Games winners. Every day this week through Friday, we will be posting a round-up of LGRAB 2011 Summer Games players and announcing the lucky prize winners. Winners will be randomly drawn from the entire pool of players.

For those of you looking for ideas for books to read about cycling, Molly has a review for you:

I picked up this kids book about the history of women and bicycles from the library several months ago and I keep renewing it without reading it. The Summer Games changed that. Actually, this book might have been recommended by one of you: Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). It was interesting, but I would have liked more about the impact of bicycles on women’s day to day lives, and less on famous lady bike racers.

She performed a maintenance task–an impressive one if you ask me!

I accidentally did the same maintenance task for this year’s Summer Games as I did last year: Repacking a hub. I’m still not very good at it. If I’d planned ahead I could have counted many other things, since this summer I took an 8 week bike workshop through Common Cycle, and we learned everything from raising saddles to replacing cables and housing to headset adjustment. But I didn’t take pictures any of those weeks. I waited til the very last week, when we were doing hubs and wheel truing. Here’s the picture I attempted to take of myself; it was hard because my hands were covered in grease and all I had was my phone.

Molly also went on a group ride on her birthday (happy birthday Molly!) and took this lovely summer-themed photo. We need to do a flikr pool of these for us to pine over when we’re stuck in the depths of winter once again. Mm, sweet corn.

Meanwhile, in Wiltshire, Kate from mixed baby greens was making headway on her four events. First up: writing to a council member about a much-needed improved crossing. She heard back that it was in the works. “Which means that from Friday onwards I’ll be able to ride the cycle-lane, stop and cross the road safely exactly where I need to, and head straight to the off-road route into town.”

She also took a new road home and performed a maintenance task: replacing the old pump and bottle cage on her bike with a new, more coordinated one.

And she snapped a photo that is the perfect combo of summer and bikes. I love it!

One of the best things about having a bike blog is having all sorts of cool people contact you to say that you’ve inspired them to create their own blog. :) Kathy in Chicago is among that number and you can read about her adventures in multi-modal commuting at Train-Bike Bike-Train. Kathy test-rode a cargo bike and videoed the results—click on the photo to see the video.

JoAnna rediscovered cycling a year ago when she was in Paris and hasn’t looked back (a woman after our own hearts!). For the Games, she completed seven tasks: riding a bike on vacation, writing a letter, reading a book, cleaning her chain, riding on a greenway and participating in New York’s Summer Streets.

She tuned up her bike and went out for a ride, ending up in a new part of town and discovering a new friend along the way.

How have I never realized that my favorite droid has been waving to me all summer long as I biked to and from work? I honestly couldn’t be happier to have met this new friend. Isn’t it just the summeriest, happiest thing, to have droid along your ride?

(our answer: YES!)

Yvonne, aka The Knot Whisperer, also got in on the fun. She very responsibly biked to jury duty, making me horribly jealous because, oddly, I have always wanted to be chosen for jury duty and somehow have gone 12 years without being tapped (yes, I know it will probably be boring. I still want to be picked for the team!). She read The Lost Cyclist, a fascinating true tale of a man who biked around the world back in the late 1800s.

I couldn’t help putting myself in Lenz’s place as he traveled through Japan and China without speaking a word of those countries’ languages. While it’s true that I went to St. Petersburg, Russia, without knowing a word of Russian, I went there as part of a writing seminar and was therefore hardly on my own. I can’t imagine how frightening it must have been for him, all on his own, especially back then when foreign countries were truly foreign to most people.

She wrote asking for improvements to the Ashland/Armitage/Elston intersection, aka the “Intersection of Terror.” And she rode a cruiser on vacation! Sweet.

OK, now that you’re all inspired: it’s time to reveal the winners, drawn by Dot.

As I announced yesterday, every day this week through Friday, we will be posting a round-up of LGRAB 2011 Summer Games players and announcing the lucky prize winners. Winners will be randomly drawn from the entire pool of players.

Here is your Wednesday dose of bikey inspiration…

Melissa – She read Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne (“Once I got past his somewhat patronizing tone, I thought it was a pretty insightful book.” – ha!), stopped to smell the flowers with her vintage Bridgestone, test rode a Townie (which may be part of her future?), and enjoyed commuting to her new job in Denver for the first time.

Melissa and her bike Smurfette smelled the flowers

Melissa made the Townie look goooood :)

Stacy – Completed many of the tasks with her family. They talked to their orthodontist about bike parking after having to lock to his sign (he’d been meaning to install a rack), took many pictures of summer bike commuting, began oiling their chains weekly, and rode the heck out of the only bike path in Huntington. She also test rode a neighbor’s bike while her husband test rode a Cannondale 5 and she read Duck on a Bike to a class of toddlers (start ’em young!).

Chris – After getting back into biking when his 12-year-old son found an old road bike in their garage last year, he’s been teaching basic bike maintenance to his son by repacking bearings, replacing cables, tubes, tires, handlebar tape and installing a bike computer. They also went on a group ride for his son’s Boy Scouts Bicycling Merit Badge and generally roamed the city and outlying trails together. Fun!

Chris went on a group ride for his son's Boy Scouts Bicycling Merit Badge!

Chris's son enjoyed a greenway ride

Highlands Veteran – Sent us a summer photo from day one of the super group ride, RAGBRAI!

Highlands Vet rode RAGBRAI

Becca – Read a book about cycling, Urban Biker’s Tricks and Tips (“Since I have been commuting to work off and on for about 4 years, I’d taught myself these tricks, but I am glad I read the book so I can feel confident to recommend it to new riders who are scared.”)

Becca confirmed her knowledge by reading about tips and tricks for urban cyclists

Scarlet-X Tech Knickers are women’s bicycling knickers made of breathable stretch fabric with a water-repellent finish and a soft anti-odor lining, made with a stylish cut and reflective piping. The Sunglasses Shop sunglasses sport large, tough frames.

And the winner is…

Lowrah, who blogs at Grease Rag Ride and Wrench in Minneapolis. Grease Rag’s mission is to encourage and empower women/ trans/ femme (WTF) cyclists in a collaborative and fun learning environment through rides, discussions, shop nights and educational seminars in a safer space. (Love!)

If you did not win yet, keep checking daily, because we still have several great prizes to give away.

Starting today and continuing every day this week through Friday, we will be posting a round-up of LGRAB 2011 Summer Games players and announcing the lucky prize winners. Winners will be randomly drawn from the entire pool of players.

We have been so pleased and humbled by all of the fun and enthusiastic entries. It’s great to see that others are enjoying biking in the summer as much as we are!

Patrick – Captured his bike with sand sculptures for a unique picture of summer, took a new route to work, test rode a new bike that he ended up buying, and went on a full moon, pink flamingo-themed group ride with his wife!

Amanda – Built her first set of wheels (for her Raleigh DL-1) and then took a long joyride through Seattle with a visiting friend, along the way exploring a new scenic route. She also emailed the Seattle Center to request that they bolt down their bike racks (that would help!).

The panniers sit on the rear rack and have a handy carrying handle that makes it easy for taking on and off. Having twin panniers provides you with enough space for a shoulder bag, purse, groceries, laptop, bottles of wine, and anything else you might pick up along the road.

And the winner is…

Deb M, who blogs at Pedal to Health. Congrats, Deb! We know you’ll put them to great use.

Daniel of La Pedaleada went on a group ride and performed a maintenance task—and videotaped them both! Check it out. I need to proofride MY Brooks…

Cathey decided to perform a maintenance task on her Globe—checking the tire pressure and filling them up. “I never thought I would enjoy doing work on my bike, but now, strange as it may seem, I kind of have my fingers crossed that a tube will need replacing or my chain will need work. I can’t wait to keep learning!” she writes.

Reader Annie from Minnesota has already completed FOUR events. She, too, has logged more than 1,000 miles on her bike in the last year. “I made up a Tshirt that I wear often when I ride. It says, “Bicycle Minnesota” on the front and “Ride, Fat Girl, Ride” on the back. It makes me smile,” she tells us.

This Friday, the cycling event of the summer begins! We couldn’t be more excited about hosting the Summer Games again this year—and giving out some wonderful prizes for you players out there.

Things are a little different this year. Instead of three separate parts, we’re asking you to complete 4 out of 10 of the events from the list below between July 22 and August 8. Once you have completed your events, there are two ways to enter:

1) Email us links to your blog posts detailing the activities; or

2) Email us your story and photographs [LGRAB@letsgorideabike.com].

Please use the subject line [Summer Games]. At any time, you can also upload your photos to our Summer Games Flickr pool. By entering, you give us permission to publish your content here.

Another Summer Games contestant who entered via email is Molly from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Molly really went the distance, participating in part 3 of the games during her honeymoon in Montreal, and her stories always put smiles on our faces.

From Molly:

Librarian Cyclists

I organized lunchtime group ride for the library where I work. It was a small group, only 4 people, but we still had fun. We rode to the Farmer’s Market and I think we all came back with asparagus.

Story: There’s an organization in Ann Arbor that promotes sustainable transportation alternatives called getDowntown, and every May they have a Commuter Challenge where they get workplaces to compete to have people do the most sustainable commutes over the course of a month. The University of Michigan Library has a huge team, so I was inspired to do a little Commuter Challenge/Summer Games crossover and organized a lunchtime group ride from the library to the Wednesday Farmer’s Market. The weather was great but the turnout was low, probably because I forgot to send a reminder email. But the four of us who did gather had a fun ride to the market. One of our participants interviewed all the other participants for a segment on her radio show. She asked us all what we planned to buy at the market; I think we all said asparagus.

{Awesome! and I can’t resist including her sweet bike date story!}

Piet and Molly

Piet was impatient with my attempts at documentation. Anything for a chance to win a Batavus in the Let’s Go Ride a Bike Summer Games.

Story: We’re finally getting some spectacular weather here in Michigan, so after we got home from work on Friday we were still itching to ride our bikes some more. I thought, “Bike date!” ran off to put on some earrings and fancy shoes, and we biked to Ben and Jerry’s for ice cream. After the ice cream, we encountered a random gang of cyclists zooming around. We didn’t recognize any of them, which was weird, and it turns out they were all from out of town visiting. We joined their gang for awhile and made a haphazard loop around campus. It was totally spontaneous and fun, but I had trouble keeping up on my lazy commuter bike, so after awhile we gave up and had a leisurely pedal home.

{Thank you, Molly! To see all of Molly’s entries, visit her Summer Games Flickr set here.}

I love the idea of getting a group of friends or co-workers together for a lunchtime ride. Has anyone else done something like that?

Enjoy another Summer Games entry sent to us through email. Natalie and her family explored the Virginia Capital Bike Trail for Part III, Bike a Greenway.

From Natalie:

We went on the first part of the Virginia Capital Bike Trail, which is under construction and eventually will connect Richmond to Jamestown and Williamsburg. This spring, we rode one of the longer sections in the middle, but we hadn’t ridden the part that was in town.

You start by going through a door-sized opening in the flood wall, near the canal walk downtown. There are some odd but somehow pleasing sculptures back there (which can’t be seen from the road because of the flood wall) and a map. The first half mile goes along the old canal under the train trestle. They put a corrugated metal roof under the tracks to keep hot oil from falling on people using the trail. This first section ends at Shiplock Park, and it’s just a mile long. My child liked that there was a small stop sign and railroad crossing sign just for the cyclists near the end of the trail!

We looked around the ship lock and rode back by the old tobacco warehouses that are now condos and apartments, and then parked at pizza place for lunch. Not a long ride at all, but it was nice to get out and it was too hot (mid 90s) for a more involved ride.

I guess this could be considered a greenway and exploring a new area. We don’t have anything called a greenway here, and the only other bike trails are for mountain bikers who like technical rides. I’m looking forward to when the Bike Trail is completed in a few years and hope more of it follows the river!

{Thank you, Natalie! Very interesting to see how this trail snakes under the highways.}

Congratulations again to Evie of the lovely blog, Now for Then. She will very soon be the owner of a shiny new Batavus BUB courtesy of Fourth Floor Distribution. Evie won the bike by completing two events for each of the three parts of the games. However, she went far above and beyond merely completing the events; she incorporated the challenges into her life with enthusiasm and wrote about it all so wonderfully. The fun radiates through her blog. Here are Evie’s entries.

The moment is here! Dottie and I wanted to find a way to draw for the prizes together, so we gave Wetoku a spin. The sound leaves something to be desired, but it was fun to be on screen together. Watch the video, or just click through the jump to see the list of winners if you can’t stand the suspense. :)

The LGRAB Summer Games have come to an end and we’re getting ready to announce the final winners tomorrow morning. Many thanks to everyone who played! We’re not done with Summer Games fun here, though. Over the next week, we’ll be posting entries that blog-less people emailed us and also putting together more recaps.

The first emailed entry comes from Kari in Minneapolis. This is such a fun story – enjoy!

Nicole and her custom bike

From Kari:

Yesterday, during my commute home, I complimented a woman on her unique bicycle while we were both stopped at a crossing on the Greenway. As we both took off and she receded into the distance, I realized that I could have asked her for her picture and used this as my second entry for the games! Her bike is super cool (evidenced by the photo below) and I was sure I wasn’t going to see anything that cool or unique anytime soon.

She was already pretty far ahead of me, but I decided that I was going to catch up with her anyway! I booked it hardcore in 3rd (my bike is a 3 speed) and I managed to catch up with her, happy but a little out of breath. She was super nice and obliged me with a photo. I told her about the contest and she said she read your blog, too! Her name is Nicole, and her bike was custom-made for her by her boyfriend, Matt, who works at Calhoun Cycle, a bike shop in Uptown.

It’s a really sweet bike in person (she’s sweet too, btw)! It’s not so clear in the photo, but the bike has a smaller front wheel and larger backwheel, plus a handmade chainguard that manages to look sort of steampunk in it’s handmadeness. I think he made the kickstand from scratch, too. Very awesome! Nicole and I geeked out bike-style about custom-made bikes and how hard it is to find European-style bicycles in America. She told me that she was really happy that I stopped her, since people normally ask her “why her bike is so wierd” instead of commenting on how INCREDIBLY AWESOME it is.

So here’s Nicole! Thanks guys!

{Thank you, Kari and Nicole! I love how this story brings two bike lovers – and LGRAB readers – together.}

This morning Mr. Dottie and I set out at 9 o’clock for brunch at the home of friends. The catch: they live over 15 miles away (31 miles roundtrip) in Hyde Park, aka Obama’s neighborhood. The ride was totally worth it for their fantastic food and company, plus I always like an excuse for a bike expedition.

Thanks to the Lakefront Trail, the ride there was simple and beautiful. From our house we rode a mile east to the Trail, then 14 miles south down the Trail, then a mile west to their house. I often ride along the north side of the trail, but very rarely along the south side. The south side is much quieter and less crowded, more nature-like and removed from the city.

Me at Promontory Point - view of skyline from the south side

Greg and Sir Raleigh at Promontory Point

Museum of Science and Industry

I'm on a boat! Not really, I only wish I were.

Part of the skyline from the south

Chicago skyline with kid biking

I wish I could convey the feel of the 90-degree heat, burning sun, miraculously cold lake breeze, cookout smells, boom box music, children laughing… We returned home at 5:30 pm, exhausted in a good way, feeling alive.

This is going down as a Summer Games event, “explore a new part of town by bike.” Although I’ve been there before, I don’t go often, and I’m not eligible for prizes, anyway :)

Well. It’s the final stage of the LGRAB Summer Games and I have to say that the competition for the Batavus BuB is fierce. But! There are many more of you who could be contenders, if you complete an event (or two) this week.

Though sadly ineligible for a prize, I took the long way home on Friday. That day (the same day Kim @cottenmusic saw me in the Village), this just meant going a few blocks out of my way on S. Douglas Ave. since I was already running late for my evening plans.

Wide and gently curving with slow-moving traffic, the street is terrific for cyclists. At the turn of the century, when the neighborhood was being planned, the center lane held a trolley car. Of course in the 1940s all that went away.

We are less than three weeks away from the final Summer Games prize drawing. The Batavus BUB is our grand prize, very generously offered by Fourth Floor Distribution. I have some more BUB photos that I’ll post periodically to keep you all motivated. You can see a previous photo of Mr. Dottie on a black diamond frame BUB here.

As Part II of the LGRAB Summer Games was coming to a close (how has it been six weeks since we started these??) I spent a lot of time reading everyone’s entries and planning how to participate myself.

So imagine my joy when, last Wednesday, I realized I was carrying a load (small box of books, plus a laptop) on my bike.

Then imagine my chagrin when I arrived home, pulled out my camera to get some photographic evidence . . . and realized I had left my memory card in my iMac at the office. Duh.

Luckily I had a backup method: telephone!

The haze over the lens pretty much says it all about the sort of humid, sultry weather we’ve been having lately. And the uptilted seat? well, that’s something that will be addressed when I write up my “complete a bicycle maintenance task” post.

Looking to complete the “read a book about cycling” event in Part II of the LGRAB Summer Games, but not sure what to read? Here are a few suggestions, in no particular order, all of which have been read by Dottie or me over the past year or so:

So far, LGRAB Summer Games Part II is off to a great start. We’ve had at least one person perform every task already! From carrying groceries to test-riding a Pashley or a Trek Belleville, our awesome readers are finding fun and creative ways to learn more about cycling. Without further ado, le round-up:

On the way home from work today, I met Mr. Dottie for a bulk food run. We were fresh out of the huge jar of fancy olives! We usually don’t grocery shop by bike because we live a block from a nice store, but we will go out of our way for a great deal on peanut butter: that’s where Costco comes in.

Bulk Grocery Run

The magnitude of this trip did not come close to our last haul with the bakfiets. Since we don’t own a bakfiets, most of our trips involve a basket, panniers and a few select bulk products. Our acquisitions today included 24 bottles of Two Brothers local craft brew (on Greg’s back rack), 4 lbs of organic strawberries, 6 lbs of yogurt, 4 lbs of raw nuts, 3 lbs of chicken sausage and 2 lbs of hummus. Yummy!

Beer Rack

The bikes handled the loads perfectly. A good test ride for the bike-camping trip we’re going on with Melissa and Chanh this weekend!

Watch the video for a dramatic reading of the names, complete with curious cats and me trying to pronounce “Clarijs.” Or just check out the snap below. Colleen, Linda, Dale & Beany, we’ll be in touch to get your mailing addresses—congratulations.

About this blog

As two women who practice city cycling with style and think you can too, we started this blog to share our stories, learn more about cycling and encourage others to rediscover the fun of riding a bike. All opinions and reviews are our own, and we are not paid to provide them. Check the "About us" page for more details.